‘Don’t feel like you’re alone in this" - National Alliance for Caregiving addresses caregiving crisis
Family caregivers now top 63 million as “sandwich generation” squeeze grows. We are hearing from the National Alliance for Caregiving.
(Aging Untold) — More than 60 million Americans are family caregivers, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving, which amounts to about one in four adults.
Jason Resendez, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, joined Aging Untold and said several factors contribute to more people providing care for family members and that caregivers should not feel alone.
Caregiving numbers grow
The National Alliance for Caregiving is marking its 30th year. The organization was founded on the idea that supporting family caregivers requires being able to see them and quantify the challenges, hardships and joys that come from family caregiving, Resendez said.
The alliance was founded around a project called Caregiving in the U.S., which Resendez said has grown into the preeminent data and research source on family caregiving over the last 30 years.
According to that research, 63 million Americans are providing care, about 20 million more than in 2015.
What’s driving the increase
Resendez said there is no single driver behind the increase. He pointed to a combination of factors, including the aging of the nation’s population.
“One of the most beautiful things about modern medicine and health care is that we’re living longer,” Resendez said.
About 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S., he said.
While lifespans have increased, health spans have not improved as much, Resendez said, meaning people are living longer in poorer health. That creates a need for family care as people get older and navigate complex medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, he said.
High-intensity caregiving
More than 57% of family caregivers are in what the alliance calls high-intensity care situations, Resendez said.
That is measured by the number of hours of care provided per week — 27 hours on average — and the number of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living caregivers assist with, such as feeding, bathing or preparing medication.
Nearly 60% of family caregivers are in the highest level of care intensity, engaged in medical and nursing tasks that were historically provided in acute care settings in hospitals, Resendez said. That care is increasingly moving from hospitals into homes, where family caregivers assist with tasks including changing feeding tubes and PICC lines and administering complex medications.
Resendez said the system is failing to recognize how hard it is to provide that level of care and is providing caregivers with very little training.
Message to caregivers
Resendez said caregiving can be an extremely isolating experience that too often goes unrecognized and under-supported.
“There are 63 million Americans sharing in that experience today,” he said. “And that’s a huge community. And where there’s community, there’s power.”
Resendez encouraged caregivers to share their stories when possible and that is how an isolating experience turns into change.
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